Kaman Pledges Support For Employees in National Guard and Reserves

BLOOMFIELD — Kaman chief executive Neal Keating, standing at a podium, gave a few remarks before signing a statement that said the company will support its employees who are active in the Army Reserve or the National Guard.

"We've supported our warfighters since the beginning of our company," he said to the about 100 gathered in a tent outside the company headquarters. But before launching into his next thought he was interrupted.

One of the company's K-Max helicopters flew overhead, running a test flight not far above the tent, the whooshing of its rotors drowning out the event's sound system.

Keating paused until it passed, then said, "That, ladies and gentleman, is the sound of freedom."

The statement that Keating signed minutes later principally says that the company will support its employees who are guardsmen and reservists with time off for periodic training or with financial support as they are called to service.

Thousands of businesses, towns, state agencies and nonprofits have signed onto the support program that Kaman joined Monday, including Aetna, AT&T, Covidien, ESPN, FuelCell Energy, Electric Boat, Northeast Utilities, Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky.

"It's the right thing to do," Keating said.

More than 50 of the company's current employees who are in the military or veterans were on hand Monday for the event, which was in conjunction with the Department of Defense's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program.

Ted Graziano, head of the program's local office in Hartford, said that this kind of support means a lot for military man and women.

"Some employers see hiring members of the National Guard as challenges," he said. "You think of it as an opportunity."

Keating said the company's supportive approach to employees who serve in the military gives them one less thing to worry about. "It's a way that we can remove one potential challenge from them as they serve."